Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 628: The Collection of Plenty, the Conspiracy of the Old Gods

Because the rate of duplicate names in the Old World was so high, when Byron saw the name "Joan of Arc", the first person he thought of was not Joan of Arc from the Iris Kingdom.

Instead, he said: "The Night Demon is a creature that is obsessed with sex and will never change its bad habits!"

Logically speaking, ever since they were promoted to fourth-order mythical creatures and brewed a cup of [panacea] through the "Scarlet Holy Grail" ritual, the mania, blood addiction, sex addiction and other strong side effects that accompanied the Midnight Demon throughout his life would immediately dissipate.

However, the reality is that there is not a single "moderate" faction among the Night Demons, all of them are "indulgent".

Because a panacea can eliminate side effects, but it cannot eliminate the deep-rooted desires in our nature.

Even if many night demons are promoted to fourth-order mythical creatures, they still retain their past instincts, wantonly indulge in various desires, and unswervingly degenerate into the "animal side".

Eventually, the anchor of rationality broke, and it was almost 100% inevitable that both body and mind would fall into the hands of [Mother of Creation Lilith].

It is not the spell or the contract that binds them, but their own desires.

It is also the most unsolvable shackle in the world!
Ask yourself, even among ordinary people, when they see the sentence: "God, I will never coexist with gambling and drugs", how many people would not silently give a thumbs up in their hearts?

It was not until the deep memories of [Grand Duke of Thorns] Vlad III emerged from the bottom of his heart that Byron suddenly realized that the "Joan of Arc" in the love letter was the activated knowledge [Saint] Joan of Arc who was active in the Corridor of Truth.

However, since Joan of Arc's transformation into Joan of Night was just a matter of time after the advent of Lilith's priesthood incarnation, the news had not spread widely.

Only a few Night Demon upper echelons knew about this matter, which resulted in Raven Fujin being unable to obtain advance intelligence from conversations with ordinary followers.

And today happened to be the day when Jeanne reported to the temporary base camp after she had adapted to her own strength.

Vlad III then wrote a love letter in advance and asked his men to prepare roses, banners, a candlelight dinner and a whole band, intending to transform himself into an aroused peacock to woo her.

Although Byron was surprised, he did not feel nervous at all. Instead, he looked in the mirror and chuckled:
“Heh, although Joan of Arc and the Lancaster family have a life-and-death feud, I am not Byron Lancaster now, but the real Vlad III!

What does your revenge on Lancaster have to do with me, Vlad III?
I'm definitely not afraid even if I have to face her face to face."

Snapped!
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and the half-written love letter was instantly burned up by a blood flame, but the table top was not burned at all.

Although in order to achieve a perfect disguise, Byron can only use the abilities that belong to Vlad III himself for the time being.

However, with the blessing of the three great priesthoods, the "All Things Return to One" level of up to 9% also allowed him to easily exert a strength far beyond the original owner, and every kind of witchcraft he used seemed to have its own consciousness.

The same ability is like a martial arts master beating an ordinary person.

Moreover, things like "spiritual realm" are the least intuitive and the least gradual. It is not completely impossible to suddenly explode when encountering true love.

“The appearance of Joan of Arc is not entirely a bad thing.

At least it provided a reason for Vlad III to increase his power at a critical moment, making it easier for me to fish in troubled waters."

Byron cleaned up the last traces in the room, making sure there were no loopholes that could allow his identity to be discovered, before leisurely walking out of the villa door.

Standing on the small hill outside the door, with the sea breeze blowing on my face, I saw the huge fleet anchored in the port at first glance.

Among them are ordinary sailing warships that serve as servants, as well as whale oil-powered strange warships with strong and extraordinary light flashing on the surface of the ship.

Vlad III himself was the commander of one of the squadrons, so he was naturally very familiar with these strange weapons unique to the Corridor of Truth.

Compared with the steam-powered dreadnought that Byron had just launched, they took a completely different route.

“The biggest difference between the two is the power system and the weapon system.

The whale oil wonder warship uses a wonder power furnace that can only be operated by extraordinary people. It converts the extremely energy-dense Leviathan whale oil directly into mechanical energy and magical energy without going through the medium of steam.

Used to drive propellers and magic circles to obtain various enchantment effects.

The weapon system still uses traditional muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons, but each cannon has been enchanted with alchemy, and is an alchemical cannon with performance far superior to that of ordinary cannons, and is no worse than our breech-loading rifled cannons.

The former is suitable for humans who are born mortals, and the latter is suitable for various extraordinary species. There is no distinction between high and low concepts. It only depends on who can laugh last and who is on the right path.

The most crucial thing is that the technical deficiencies of the strange warships are made up with extraordinary materials, resulting in a much higher cost than the former, and there is no way to mass-produce them.

Once too much is lost in a war, it will be difficult to replenish it in a short period of time, and the raw materials are much more expensive than the century-old oak of an ordinary sailing warship."

Byron felt that regardless of which of the two warships was stronger in terms of direct combat capability, in the protracted war in the future, his own combat potential would definitely be higher.

The power of "Industrial Cthulhu" is definitely not weaker than that of the old gods!

"Master, the band is already waiting at the port. Shall we go to the port now to greet Miss Jeanne?"

Without looking back, he saw two fourth-level female descendants who had been embraced by Vlad III for the first time, leading a group of servants and slaves and quietly coming behind him.

The two female Night Demons are both beauties picked from thousands in the Grand Duchy. One is a petite and cute girl named Bella, and the other is a mature and beautiful girl named Selina.

They walked up to Byron very naturally, hugged his arms on the left and right, revealing their identities as blood relatives and lovers.

Moreover, they were obviously very aware of their own identities. It was impossible for people of their bloodline to become noble Grand Duchesses.

At this time, when helping his master to pursue beauties, he is not only not resistant, but is very hard-working.

Bella and Selina were both human beings once, but now they are night demons. They have a deep understanding of the relationship between humans and demons in the night demon kingdom.

They know very well that the tragic love stories between humans and night demons described by novelists do not exist in reality.

After all, which human in the world would choose to fall in love with pigs and sheep that are only fit to be food?

To some extent, the physiological and psychological gap between ordinary people and night demons is greater than that between humans and animals. In the Night Demon Kingdom, the status of humans is no different from that of livestock.

The night demons that were transformed later in life are naturally inferior to their clansmen.

Selina handed a heart-shaped crystal bottle filled with bright red liquid to Byron and said softly:
“Master, the Principality’s blood tax quota for a month is all here. It has all been refined into [Transmutation Blood], which can be easily absorbed by the Night Demon and transformed into its own [Panacea].

It was already generous enough to give it as a gift to a fifth-level night demon who only had a title but no territory.

Miss Jeanne will definitely be impressed by you."

Byron took the crystal bottle and took a look at it, and found that it was a rare storage device with a capacity thousands times greater than it looked.

The surface of the bottle is cut into colorful patterns, and the bright red liquid inside is flowing slowly on its own as if it has life.

I opened the bottle stopper that was also cut into a heart shape and took a sniff. It exuded a unique sweet and bloody smell. It was indeed the [Transmutation Blood] extracted from humans, and the quality was pretty good.

“Is this the blood tax for one month?”

As soon as Byron heard the term, related memories emerged in his mind.

When Byron first came into close contact with Lilith in the Blood Source Secret Realm of the Bloodthirsty Cult, he heard the remaining echoes of the mythical era:
“If hard work could bring wealth, then the ruler of the world would be a donkey!

Look up, the people sitting on the throne are not diligent workers, but blood-sucking creatures in human skin.

The top of the food chain in the human kingdom is a feast for dragons and night demons."

It was not until today when I saw the social ecology of the Night Demon Kingdom with my own eyes for the first time that I gained the most intuitive understanding of it.

The current aristocratic system on the Silver Continent originated from the Night Demons. Even though they have been separated since the Silver Age, they are still of the same lineage.

The [Night Demon Kings] divided the nobles in the country into dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, barons, and knights. Each noble had his own territory, direct family, and a large number of slaves and servants.

Enjoy supreme power within his territory.

Based on this aristocratic system, they are also one of the few forces among the many old gods' followers that possess the power of the masses.

The Silver Continent has a ruling system consisting of the [Pontifical Triple Crown], [Crown], [Royal Title], and nobles at all levels.

What they have here is the "Blood Crown" system, also known as the "Abundant Collection" system.

As we all know, the fastest way to make money is not to create wealth, but to transfer wealth.

"Feng Rang Levy" is essentially a tax system that can fully cover tens of millions of individuals at the grassroots level.

Everyone under this ruling system, in addition to paying taxes like in a normal country, also has to pay an additional "blood tax."

Once every three months, a special tax officer would come to collect the tax, 400 milliliters for an adult each time. Anyone who dared to default on the tax would surely be put to death.

Because blood is the currency of the Night Demon, in this land, only death and taxation are inevitable!
The Night Demon nobles have only power but no obligations.

Therefore, abundance only belongs to the night demon, and poverty always accompanies human beings throughout their lives.

Relying on this bone-sucking "abundant collection" system, pseudo-god-level Night Demon kings and dukes emerge in large numbers among the Night Demons.

They own several Night Demon Kingdoms in the north of the continent, and their aristocrats are all elites who can overwhelm other Old Gods' followers of the same level.

'What a bountiful levy!'

The murderous intent in Byron's heart flashed away.

Although he is also a night demon king, he always maintains his humanity and believes that he is the monarch of mankind. He has not fallen into the animal side and cannot empathize with these so-called "fellows".

When he extracted the [Blood of Transmutation], the raw materials were only the enemies he had killed. He always swung his sword towards the stronger ones and never bullied the weak.

Looking at this bottle of blood tax, he secretly made up his mind that when he had the strength to launch a counterattack against the Night Demon Kingdom, he would definitely defeat these guys and turn them into blood slaves and collect taxes from them every day!

Let’s see which one is more powerful, the Armed Royal Tax Inspection Bureau or the Night Devil’s tax officer.

"Miss Jeanne is here!"

Suddenly, someone shouted at the port.

"Clatter" a large cloud of bats rose up across the entire island. The Night Demon nobles who were qualified to get the news in advance used the [Bat Transformation Spell] and rushed to the port.

They turned back into human form on both sides of the pier, all of them were dressed luxuriously and looked extraordinarily handsome, looking forward to a transport ship that had just arrived at the port.

It was only because of the deep-rooted class concept that they lined up according to their own titles, and did not appear to be in a disorderly manner. Soon, a beautiful girl wearing bright silver armor, so bright that it hurt people's eyes, put her hand on the hilt of the sword, and walked down the gangway step by step.

Her long golden hair fluttered in the wind, her deep blue eyes were as firm as iron, and her entire body was enveloped in a layer of blazing holy light that made the night sky subconsciously retreat.

It was as if he had just stepped down from the stake.

But in contrast, she has an explosive figure. Even wearing armor, she can't hide her long and strong legs like jade pillars, and her slender waist.
It can be said that she has the face and temperament of an angel, but a figure like a devil.

"It's really her! But the power of this activated knowledge looks a little strange."

No one in the entire Corridor of Truth knew Joan of Arc better than Byron.

After all, it was Lancaster who ordered the other party to be burned to death. No wonder he had a strange feeling in his mind that the other party had just walked down from the stake.

According to records, she was only 19 years old when she died, but she was already a powerful fourth-rank heroic [Paladin] with an extremely firm faith and strictly adhered to all eight virtues.

On the day she was burned to death, she still shouted the holy name in extreme pain, and her faith was completely sublimated.

If it weren't for the mortal body that restricted her in the Ladder of Glory sequence, she would probably have become a fifth-level legendary [Paladin] on the spot, carrying the stake and killing everyone.

Stronger than the three current leaders of the Knights Templar.

Although he was eventually burned alive, he was canonized after his death.

In other words, Joan of Arc is a genuine "saint" recognized by the church!
The same is true after the knowledge is activated. Even if he does not hold the [Saint's Human Ring] and is not equipped with the corresponding zero-level holy relics, he is still a top-notch existence among all fifth-level legends and pseudo-gods.

It is not an incredible thing to kill a king of a small country without getting embarrassed or out of breath.

Not only that, this powerful character who had a mortal feud with Lancaster was "embraced" by Lilith who had smuggled into the material world, and became a fifth-level night demon, also making up for his physical shortcomings.

What is even more amazing is that the holy light, which is extremely overbearing and cannot tolerate any forbidden power, can actually coexist harmoniously with the scarlet aura of the Night Devil.

Joan of Arc's sacred temperament and aphrodisiac-like body produced a unique chemical reaction, which almost made the night demons, who were already suffering from blood addiction and sex addiction, explode on the spot.

They rushed to Joan of Arc holding roses and jewels, without any aristocratic manners or reserve, and shouted:

"Miss Jeanne, please let me be your guardian knight. I will never let the enemy hurt you in the slightest before I die."

"Ms. Jeanne, I have called together the commanders of the various fleets to prepare a welcome banquet for you. Please be sure to attend."

"Miss Joan, please listen to this poem I wrote for you."

However, it seems that something strange has been mixed in.

"Miss Jeanne, I am overwhelmed by your strength and beauty. Please, please kick my ass hard with your boot."

"You should step on my face."

"You two shut up, Miss Jeanne, please let me be your dog, I'm very good at Transfiguration."

Even human nobles are known for their extravagant ways of playing, and some even have such quirks that are difficult for normal people to understand, such as watching naked dwarfs do math problems, let alone these night demon nobles.

They only value strength and not character. After obtaining the immortality that even generations of kings and emperors have longed for, no one is more empty inside than them.

Their lower limit will always be lower than the limit of normal people's imagination.

To describe them as "living a dissolute life" is an insult to the word.

It is conceivable how shocking this scene of chaos and chaos must be for a Paladin who was adhering to the eight virtues and chanting the holy name until the moment of his death!
At least in the few short days after the "First Embrace", it was not enough for Joan of Arc to completely turn to the "beastial side" and become a degenerate who went along with them.

creak creak
Byron could clearly see that the veins on Joan of Arc's hand holding the sword were bulging, and the divine light was surging like an active volcano about to erupt.

The character Vlad III he played should have been one of them, or even the most outstanding one.

Vlad III had greeted the other three fifth-level false gods on the island in advance, and he was the only fifth-level one who was courting today.

Theoretically, as long as he personally took action, he would immediately crush the other Night Demon nobles into pieces and win Joan of Arc's heart.

Byron's original plan was to continue maintaining his character.

If you back out at the last minute and others go to court but you don't, you will seem like a loner.

But at this time, as Joan of Arc's aura changed, the [Ship's Log] glimpsed something different from her.

It was a familiar figure that slowly emerged behind her. Although it was very illusory, it was clear enough for Byron to see.

The graceful female body is completely naked, but there are several pairs of curved horns on her head and her skin is red.

It has six bat wings, using two wings to cover its face, two wings to cover its feet, and two wings to fly, but each wing has six pairs of red eyes, which constantly shed blood and tears.

A voice whispered in admiration:

"Praise. [Blood Angel] Lamia!"

Byron shuddered on the spot and almost dropped the blood tax for that month in his hand.

He already knew that Barat, Lilitu, Lamia and so on were all aliases of [Lilith, the Mother of Creation].

He even witnessed the arrival of the Blood Angel Lamia when he was in the Malta Monastery.

This angel is the incarnation of Lilith's divinity, representing her authority to create and rule over all living things. She is also the immortal divinity that was swallowed by the Creator.

It is based on this part of divinity that the church greatly downgraded Lilith's status when compiling the "Gospel of Creation".

The image became that of the first woman created by the Creator, and was also integrated into the church's belief system.

It was not until the Creator continued to break apart that the Blood Angel Lamia suddenly emerged.

A flash of light flashed through Byron's mind:
“I see.

No wonder the first thing Lilith did after returning was to embrace Joan of Arc.

The power bestowed upon her during the First Embrace was not that of the Night Demon, but rather the Blood Angel, which was of the same origin!
Lilith clearly had the same idea as me.

I, Saint Byron, who was canonized by the church, am now a recipient of the Holy Spirit, and sooner or later I will become the true Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, Joan of Arc, who was canonized as a saint, possessed both the sanctity of an angel and the power of Lilith, becoming a follower of the Blood Angels.

I'm afraid that sooner or later Lilith will use her as a medium to take back her own immortal divinity.

Moreover, the Blood Angels, like the Winged Angels, are part of the Creator.

If you handle it well, you may even be able to go public through a backdoor listing like I did, and give orders on behalf of the Creator who only has pan-consciousness, and swallow up the entire church in one gulp!
Damn, the methods of these old gods are too hard to guard against."

Byron couldn't help but feel the veins on his forehead throbbing.

“Originally, I thought that as long as I took away the original copy of The Gospel of Heaven, I could significantly slow down the speed of the Jackal God and his men’s counterattack on the Pantheon.

Unexpectedly, Lilith didn't follow the routine at all, but took a different approach and came up with this idea.

When Joan of Arc's realm of 'All Things Return to One' reaches 10%, she will be able to steal a portion of immortal divinity out of thin air.

With one hand you are keeping an eye on the 'triple point' behind the Pillars of Heloxus, and with the other hand you are preparing to take back your divinity. You want it all, and you must be the most far-sighted among the old gods!

It turns out that no old god should be underestimated.

This is because they have become crazy after being drowned in the deep sea. If they were still normal gods, I am afraid that I would be killed by them and I would not even know how I died."

There is no doubt that [Blood Angel] Lamia and the Saint and Night Demon Joan of Arc have a very high compatibility.

She is the top-quality "blood pack" that Lilith prepared for herself, and she will never allow anyone else to touch her.

Now, these people who are courting Joan of Arc are basically dancing on Lilith's grave. If Lilith feels threatened, she will probably die in an extremely ugly way.

"However, think on the bright side. Now that I have discovered this in advance, it may be an opportunity that can be utilized."

After [Mother of Creation Lilith] regains her sanity, the first person she will kill is probably Byron, the thief who stole her power but is not under her control.

If I can resolve the previous grudge with Joan of Arc, maybe I will have a chance to become allies and join forces to defeat Lilith!
Although Iris and Hastings are sworn enemies and have been in love and hatred with each other for hundreds of years, they have no psychological barriers to joining forces to fight a strong enemy when they encounter one.

Moreover, he still has a strong claim to the Iris Kingdom. Once Louis XI dies, they may become a family.

However, when Byron's heart was in turmoil, he did not realize that he seemed to have forgotten something.

Just when Joan of Arc was about to explode, another group of people came in front of Joan of Arc with trumpets and drums, very tactlessly.

A middle-aged demon who looked like a jester had a big smile on his face:

“Miss Jeanne, our master, His Excellency Grand Duke Vlad III, admires you very much.

I would like to invite you to dinner tonight, please do come.”

When the surrounding night demons, followers, and slaves heard the name of Vlad III, they all subconsciously moved to the sides, revealing Byron at the back of the crowd.

Especially since he was holding a heart-shaped crystal bottle filled with transmutation blood.

Even if he wanted to deny it three times at this time, "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense", he would still be unable to defend himself.

Naturally, Byron also attracted all the anger that Joan of Arc had just accumulated in her heart to himself.

Jeanne slowly drew her sword, and her pink lips, which were 37 degrees, spoke words as cold as absolute zero:

"I cannot disobey Lilith's orders and hunt demons at will among the group of night demons.

But it seems that you are the strongest among them. If I chop you half to death, these flies will probably shut up completely, right?"

(End of this chapter)